Butter & Balm from the Dollar Shave Club

You MP followers will realize that this is our third post on the Dollar Shave Club, and we’re finally talking about their actual shaving products.  It’s about time to get down to the core of what this company does.

Today’s write-up covers two different shaving products offered by the DSC – Dr. Carver’s Easy Shave Butter and Dr. Carver’s Magnanimous Post Shave, a balm which is described as a daily all-in-one moisturizer as well as a post-shave application.  As you’ll see, we’ve got a divergent tale of two products to tell….

I didn’t like the Shave Butter at all.  Here's why.  The style of this product is a thin film, as opposed to a more traditional shaving cream.  Some of you will remember that I raved about Men’s Stock from Aubrey, a product with some similar characteristics, earlier this year.  (See Shaving Cream Face-Off: Part 2 of 2.)  However, unlike the Aubrey product, DSC’s Shave Butter fails to penetrate the surface of the skin to set up the whiskers to be mowed down.  Also, the Shave Butter is too runny, and it’s so translucent that I couldn’t even tell which areas of my face still had Shave Butter on them, and which ones I had already shaved.  So I wound up with a handful of minor cuts from re-shaving parts of my face that I’d already gone over.  The only positive aspect of this product was its mildness on the skin, and that’s not enough for me to recommend it.

Dr. Carver’s Magnanimous Post Shave balm, on the other hand, is an excellent product!  It’s thick, rich and soothing, working its way into your face and alleviating any razor burn and nicks and scrapes.  There’s none of the astringency or alcohol sting that you get with many other competing lotions or creams.  And DSC’s claim that the Post Shave can be used as a daily moisturizer stands up to the test.  Even hours after applying it, I could still feel its effects on my face.  Finally, the Magnanimous Post Shave is comprised of a variety of wholesome, natural ingredients – as is the case with Dollar Shave Club products in general.  Two thumbs up!

It’s strange to find such a wide gap between two shaving products, meant to be used together, from the same company.  (In a way these would be perfect complementary products, since you'll need the excellent balm to help soothe that sensitive cheek from the poor butter - kind of like pizza and beer!)  But it is what it is.  Think back to The Godfather, when Clemenza famously said, "Leave the gun. Take the cannoli."  I say, skip the butter.  Embrace the balm.

by ManPossible